Inspired second half brings long overdue win at Roda
1 (1) - 2
(0)
Holland Casino Eredivisie
Parkstad Limburg Stadium,
Kerkrade
Wednesday, 21 January, 2004
Should Ronald Koeman, in retrospective, be
grateful to comedian Freek de Jonge for his
controversial New Year speech? The Ajax boss
was annoyed as the ever-provocative comedian stated that
Koeman had bought a "team full of left wingers" and that the
supply room of the Ajax Fanshop is totally stuffed with excess
Sikora and Soetaers merchandise. Not funny, according
to Koeman, but the Ajax coach probably couldn't oppress a
furtive chuckle during the second half of Roda JC vs
Ajax as spectacular long range strikes by (of all people)
Sikora and Soetaers brought Ajax a hard-fought and long overdue
triumph in Kerkrade: 1-2.
Victor Sikora in a duel
with Van Dessel and Filipovic of Roda JC in Kerkrade.
[Photo: Marcel van Hoorn/ANP]
The last time Ajax managed a win in Kerkrade was on 28
August 1998, at Roda's old Kaalheide ground. What followed were
a 3-0 hammering and a 1-0 Amstel Cup defeat, plus three
consecutive 1-1 draws at brand-new Parkstad Limburg Stadium.
'Roda away', quite obviously, is one of the tougher away
fixtures for Ajax. The team's form in recent friendlies
and the impressive list of absent players (Ibrahimovic,
Maxwell, Trabelsi, Lobont, Pienaar, Litmanen, Obodai, Van
Damme, De Mul) did not exactly provide Ajax with reasons
to make the longest busride of the season too
optimistically.
The first half, from an Ajax point of
view, was worse than the worst case scenario. Ajax
was even more appalling than in December, or in
Portugal, and was a goal down in no time. Central forward
Wesley Sonck's poor backpass was intercepted, after which the
rest of the team allowed Kone to send Greek 'hit man'
Yannis Anastasiou on his way to a helpless Maarten
Stekelenburg, who could pick the ball out of
nets only 14 minutes into his first Ajax-1 game of the
season. To make matters worse, a tenth player had to
be added to the injury list just before the badly needed
half-time break: Zdenek Grygera walked off rubbing a
muscle in his upper leg and was replaced by Nigel de Jong.
Only two players did not have to feel deeply ashamed about
their first half performance: John O'Brien, who played his
first Eredivisie game in eight months and played energetically
(although his passing was not yet perfect) and Rafaël van
der Vaart. The Ajax captain had a dreadful first half of the
season and was lectured by Koeman in Portugal. It helped. Van
der Vaart's form is still nowhere near that of least season,
but the captain worked harder than ever, chasing opponents,
making slidings, tackling and coaching his team-mates. It was a
joy to watch. Van der Vaart finally seems to
understand what is expected from a team captain.
Van der Vaart's leadership wasn't enough to get
the Ajax engine running in the first half. Roda,
meanwhile, hardly showed anything noteworthy itself, although
the traditionally tall and physical Limburg side is
always dangerous on free kicks and corners. The first
half was an utterly pathetic spectacle, which left the
travelling Ajax support wondering: how on earth are we ever
going to score over here?
John O'Brien, playing in his
first meaningful game for Ajax this season,
battles with Cristiano of Roda JC. [Photo: Louis van de
Vuurst/Ajax.nl]
Only three minutes into the second half Victor Sikora had
the answer: by picking up the ball several yards outside
of the penalty area, nicely flicked on by Van der Vaart, and
mercilessly hammering it into the netting via the underside of
the cross-bar. Simple as that. 1-1. "I really needed
this", the scorer admitted after the game. "I must say I had to
get used to the criticism over here. I hope this is the
beginning of what's yet to come."
The equalizer was a major encouragement for the team, which
almost immediately started playing better. All of a sudden
there was structure. De Jong and O'Brien took advantage of
the space Roda's 4-4-2 provided them with on the
flanks, while Galásek, Sneijder and Van der Vaart took
control over midfield. Even the struggling forwards,
Sikora, Sonck and Soetaers, seemed to instantly pick up
self-esteem, which was underscored by a fine Sonck header (on a
Sikora cross) which hit the cross-bar.
Several minutes later Ajax was in the lead, after yet
another spectacularly beautiful goal by a criticized winger
that really needed it. A Wesley Sneijder corner kick was
insufficiently cleared from the box by Aruna Kone, after which
Soetaers put his boot against the ball from some 20 yards - and
saw it beautifully curve over a fully stretching Kujovic: 1-2
(62'). Soetaers' emotional release in front of the exuberant
section of Ajax fans told the whole story of the Belgian,
who played his first ever match against Roda
and had a tough start in Amsterdam.
Roda certainly had its chances in the second half: Sergio,
for example, had a totally
unmarked shooting opportunity inside the Ajax penalty
box (minutes before Soetaers' goal), but wildly fired into
the stands. After Ajax took the lead there were several
moments of danger also, although those moments usually weren't
real chances, but scrimmages and moments of defensive
chaos on corners and free kicks. The hosts came
closest to equalizing that way in the very last
minute, but Stekelenburg survived his scariest moment of
the night.
The best chances and by far the best football, however, were
for Ajax in the remainder of the game. Substitute Nicolae
Mitea came close on a couple of occasions.
Rafaël van der Vaart saw his curving shot go inches wide,
after goalkeeper Kujovic stormed out of his goal to clear, but
erratically passed straight to Van der Vaart, who aimed on the
deserted goal from long range. The best
chance, however, wad for young Daniël de Ridder, who
made his official Eredivisie début. Every move
he made elicited encouraging yells from the Ajax
supporters. His ultimate chance to grace his début
with a goal came in the 83rd minute, as he graciously
slipped past two defender and found himself face-to-face
with Kujovic, who blocked his left-footed shot.
Ajax's play in the final ten minutes was rather promising.
The Amsterdammers neither panicked nor leaned back, but passed
the ball around, accurately and patiently, taking advantage of
the inevitable space Roda had to allow the guests on several
occasions.
"I am glad Sikora and Soetaers scored", said Ronald Koeman.
"Nice for them. I was satisfied with their play in the second
half, not in the first. But that wasn't just them, but the
whole team. Wesley Sneijder and Tomás
Galásek swapped positions in the second half, which
worked out fine. The organisation was much better
then."
The fixture between Roda JC and Ajax was a rescheduled
one (it was postponed in December due to the
death of Roda chairman Theo Pickée), so that the two
teams have now played the same number of games as the rest
of the Eredivisie. Next up is an Eredivisie fixture Ajax never
lost: the home game against NEC. (MP)
GOALS
- 14' 1-0 Yannis Anastasiou
- 48' 1-1 Victor Sikora
- 62' 1-2 Tom Soetaers
Referee: Jol
Yellow cards: Sneijder (Ajax),
Filipovic, Vandenbroeck (Roda JC)
Attendance: 18,122
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Grygera (43. De
Jong), Heitinga, Escudé, O'Brien; Galásek, Van
der Vaart, Sneijder; Sikora (75. De Ridder), Sonck, Soetaers
(67. Mitea).
Roda JC line-up: Kujovic; Senden,
Brouwers, Luijpers, Filipovic; Sergio (76. Cristiano), Van
Dijk, Vandenbroeck, Van Dessel; Anastasiou, Kone.
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